Folding camera



R. KROEDEL.

FOLDING CAMERA.

APPLICATION `man nc.13. 1919.

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. INVENTOR l /eraef y, L s ATTORNEY R. KROEDEL.

FOLDING CAMERA.

APPLICATION FILI-:D DEc. I3. 1919.

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FOLDING CAMERA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 7, 1921.

To all/whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, ROBERT KRonDiiL, of Rochester in the county of Monroe and State of ew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Folding Cameras; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and to the reference-numerals marked thereon.

-My present invention. relates to photography and more particularly to photographic cameras ofl the yfflolding type in which a bellows and front or lens mount are rejected from an inoperative position within the body to an operative position over a hinged bed that forms a door for the body and the invention has for its object to provide an improved means onholding the lens mount or front securely in its operative position. The improvements are also directed toward providing a convenient means for releasing the lens mount and means whereby the release thereof automatically releases the bed to permit it to fold. To these and other ends the invention resides in certain improvements and combinations of parts all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed` out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 a side "iew of a folding camera constructed in accordance with and illustrating` one embodiment of my invention, the same being in operative position.

Fig. 2 is a similar View showing the camera partially folded;

Fig. 3 is a central longitudinal section through the bellows chamber showing the parts folded-but with the rest of the body omitted;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section through the body on the line 4--4 of Fig. 1, with the bellows removed and showing the bed and related parts inV top plan view;

Fig. 5 is a front view, and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary, longitudinal central section through the front portion of the bed.

Similar reference numerals throughout the several views indicate the same parts.'

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 indicates the bodyand 2 the door and bed .hinged to the body at 3 to swing from the inoperative position of Fig. 3 to the operative position of Fig. 1, and 4 is the bellows and 5 the lens boa-rd or front upon which the lens 6 and sh iztter? are carried and hereafter called the lens mount. The bellows chamber 6a within the body is defined by the frame 7i and accommodates the bellows and lens mount, as sho-wn in Fig. 3, when folded therein in the manner hereinafter described.

In the practice of my invention, I provide a folding brace 8 for supporting the bed rrom the body in operative positionmuch in the usual way, except that the brace is released by an upward or forward instead of the customary downward and rearward movement. The'lower end thereof is pivoted at 9 in each instance (there being one brace on each side of the camera) to an upwardly turned ear 10 on the edge of thebed 2, while its upper end is slotted at 11 to run on a headed pin 12 on the inner side of a side wall of the body 1, when the bed is folded. The locking shoulder that coperates with the' pin when the latter is at the end of the slot to resist upward movement ofthe bed is indicated at 13 and the end of the brace is split as at 14 to give the desired spring tension for holding the pin and shoulder in engagement.

The lens mount or board 5 has forwardly turned lateral ears 15 located approximately at its center line and by means ofvwhich it is pivoted at 16 to the upper ends of two supporting links 17 the lower ends of which are pivoted at 18 to forward and laterally arranged upstanding ears 19vv on the bed. When the camera. is folded, the supporting links 17 swing rearwardly, as shown in Fig. 2, on their pivots 18 and the lens mount 5 moves bodily with them but it also rotates forwardly on its other pivot 16 so that it folds face down against or substantially parallel with the bed 2 as the links reach a similar position.

lThe lens mount and its pivotal support are held rigidlypin the erect operative position by a pair of jointed links the parts 20 and 21 of which are pivoted together at 22 while the first mentioned is pivoted to the bed at its other end on the same pivot 9 that carries the link 8. The joint 22 between the parts of each brace is an elbow joint and is broken in a downward direction,

as shown in Fig. 2, to permit the rearward ing the camera, as in Fig. 2,-the short radius upon which the pivot 9 revolves around the hinge 3 causes the brace 20-,-21 to straighten and erect the lens mount supporting links 17, as in Fig. 1.

The braces 20-21 are released to permit the folding of 'the lens mount and-its supports by a natural rearward pressure at the front of the lens mount that, continued, folds down the supports 17 while the resistance of the bellows or contact with the camera body starts the lens mount itself rotating forwardly on its pivot 16 and thls releasing operation also releases or unlocks the braces 8 between the bed and body. It is accomplished by pressing with the thumbs 4against two bell crank extensions 24 of the brace members 21 that extend upwardly at the sides of the supports 17 and forwardly of the lens mount. The braces 8 adjacent the pivots 9 thereof are provided with forward extensions 25a having inturned ears 26 located against the under sides of the members 20 of the front braces. When these members swing downwardly in the folding operation just described, they press on the ears 26 and rock the braces 8 forwardly so that the shoulders 13 disengage from the pins 12 on the body and allow the braces 8 to fold and the bed 2 to swing toward the bod Ity is necessary that means be provided for carrying the lens mount 5 to a true erect position on its pivotal connections 16 with the supports 17 when the latter have been erected by the braces 20-21 and 'in the present instance, I provide for this pur ose on the inner side of each link support 1 a finger 27 pivoted thereto at 28, as best shown in Fig. 6. When the parts are in other than the operative or extended position of Figs. 1 and 6, these fingers are held spread rearwardly, as shown in Fig. 2, to catch beneath lateral arms 29 on the lower edges of the lens mount 5 as the latter swings upwardly on the links 17 by leaf springs 30 fastened to the links at 31 and which leaf springs engage lugs 31a on the fingers near their pivots 28. As the links 17 reach their erect position, shoulders 32 on the opposite sides of the centers of the lingers 27 come up against -abutments 33 formed, yin the present instance, as extensions on the ears 19 and carry the extensions 29 on the lens mount ti ht against the rear edges of the supportmg pressed rearwardl links 17, as shown in Fig. 6, so that the lens mount can no longer turn on -itspivot 16 in either direction. In this position, the springs 30 remain under tension and are ready to kick the fingers 27 out of the way to permit the folding of the mount 5 as soon as the breaking of the joint in the brace 20-21has swung the link supports 17 rearwardly to carry the shoulders 32 of the lingers away from the abutments 33.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a folding'camera, the combination with a body, a bed hinged thereto and a lens mount pivotally supported on the bed, of a jointed brace for the lens mount pivoted to the bed and a device for breaking the joint of the brace.

2. In a folding camera, the combination with a body, a-bed hinged thereto, a folding lens mount and means on the bed for pivotally supporting the lens mount, of a jointed brace for the lens mount. pivoted to thebed and to said means and operating devices at the front of the lens mount for breaking the joint of the brace.

3. In a folding camera, the combination with a body, a bed hinged thereto, a folding lens mount and means on the bed for piv` otally supporting the lens mount, of a jointed brace fonthe lens mount pivoted to the bed and to said means, one member of the jointed brace being provided with a rigid extension at the front of the lens mount adapted to be pressed to break the joint of the brace.

4. In a folding camera, the combination with a body, a bed hinged thereto to fold rearwardly against the body, a lens mounted adapted to fold rearwardly to a position substantially parallel with the bed 'and links pivoted to the latter and pivotally supporting the lens mount, of a jointed brace for the lens mount pivoted to the bed and to the links, one member of the jointed brace being provided with a rigid extension at the front of the lens mount adapted to be pressed rearwardly to break the joint of the brace.

5. In a folding camera, the combination with a body, a bed hinged thereto to fold rearwardly against the body, a lens mount adapted to fold rearwardly to a position substantially parallel with the bed and links ing the lens mount, of a jointed brace for the lens mounted pivoted to the bed and to the links, one member of the jointed brace being provided with a rigid extension at the front of the lens mount adapted to be to break the joint of the brace, and a fol ng brace connecting the bed and body and adapted to be released by the jointed brace when the latter is broken.

6. In a folding camera, the combination with a. body, a bed hinged thereto, and

.means lfor locking the bed in extended position, of a folding lens mount on the bed and means for holding it in operative position and adapted when released to also release the locking means.

7. In a foldin camera, the combination with a body, a ed hinged thereto and a folding brace connecting the bed and body and having a locked position when the camera is extended, of a folding lens mount and a brace connected to the bed for holding the lens mount `/in operative position and adapted when released to also unlock the first mentioned brace.

8. In a folding camera, the combination with a body, a bed hinged thereto and means for locking the bed in extended osition, of a folding lens mount on the be and a two part jointed brace for holding it in operative position and adapted when released to release the said locking means, one part of said brace being extended forwardly of the lens mount to constitute an operatlng portion for breaking the joint of the brace.

9. In a folding camera, the combination with a body, a bed hinged thereto and means for locking the bed in extended position, of a folding lens mount on the bed and a twopart ointed brace for holding it in operative positlon, one part of said brace constituting an operating portion for breaking the joint and releasing the lens mount and the other part being arranged to coperate with the bed locking means and to release it also.

10. In' a folding camera, the combination with a body, a bed hinged thereto and a folding brace for locking the bed in extended position, and having one end pivoted to the bed and provided with an extension beyond the pivot,` of a folding lens mount on the bed and a two part jointed brace for holding it in operative position, one part of said brace constituting an operating portion for breaking the joint and releasing the lens mount and the other part being arranged to coperate with the extension on the bed brace to release it.

11. In a folding camera, the combination with a body and a bed hinged thereto, of a lens mount support pivoted to the bed on a fixed pivot to fold rearwardly against the same and two members operating to erect the support automatically as the bed is eX- tended, said members being pivoted together and one of them being pivoted to the lens mount support and the other being pivoted to the bed on a shorter radius4 from the hinge thereof than that of the pivot connecting the support to the bed.

ROBERT KROEDEL. 

